Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock Rating Lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) was downgraded by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $59.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $66.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.55% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on MNST. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Monster Beverage from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Truist Financial downgraded Monster Beverage from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $46.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Monster Beverage from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monster Beverage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.79.

Monster Beverage Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Monster Beverage stock opened at $53.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $55.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.72. Monster Beverage has a twelve month low of $47.13 and a twelve month high of $61.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $56.97 and its 200 day moving average is $55.60.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.38. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 22.84%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Monster Beverage will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Monster Beverage

In related news, Director Mark J. Hall sold 659,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.55, for a total value of $38,584,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 777,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,542,532. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Monster Beverage

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 360.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 72.36% of the company’s stock.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in development, marketing, sale, and distribution of energy drink beverages and concentrates in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Monster Energy Drinks, Strategic Brands, Alcohol Brands, and Other.